The Future Is Now: Innovative Concepts in Neuroethology and New Technologies

This 2015 Gordon Research Conference on Neuroethology, now in its 7th edition, will focus on "Conceptual Innovations and New Technologies". The core focus of Neuroethology is the understanding of the neuronal bases of naturalistic animal behavior. This dynamic field has traditionally required a diverse and highly multidisciplinary toolkit for its intellectual and experimental advancement. As the field continues to grow and evolve, new and more meaningful connections are emerging within and across areas in neuroscience, biology, math, computer science and engineering. Collaborative studies at these interdisciplinary boundaries promise to enrich and expand the innovative thinking and toolkits available for neuroethologists and for their new partners as well. This year’s conference is designed to highlight the tremendous opportunities and occasional challenges of working at the interface of science and technology. An outstanding and internationally renowned cast of speakers has been selected whose cutting-edge research spans fields in neurobiology (genes, circuits, development, behavior, and evolution), ecology, engineering, and computer-based systems. Individual sessions are designed so that the body of presentations will showcase how biological solutions inform new conceptual and technological advances, and vice versa. Such examples will be drawn, in part, from research in the areas of bio-inspired robotics, smart machines, and computational modeling. The meeting’s highly collegial and interactive nature will stimulate lively discussions and the sharing of diverse perspectives, potentially fostering new interdisciplinary research collaborations. In addition to formal talks and discussion sessions, all participants are encouraged to present their research in the form of poster presentations. It is noteworthy that this year’s 2015 conference will be preceded by a compelling Neuroethology Gordon Research Seminar (GRS) focused on evolution, which will be designed and chaired by young neuroethologists.